After some time after leaving the palace area, the two of us finally entered the city area.
Unlike a usual city, here all the houses looked multi-storied and their designs were exactly the same as the other houses.
"Rosa-chan, are all the buildings in this city the same?" maybe in other parts of the city the houses were different.
"If it's still around here, the buildings are indeed very dense. But if you go to the outskirts there are more small houses there," answered Rosa-chan.
"I see..." I thought they were all the same... but if it's in the city center, the houses should indeed be big. Unlike the outskirts.
In the outskirts of the city, perhaps life there was more difficult than here.
The word "outskirts" itself already showed that the area lagged behind the city center.
People living in the city center must also have an economy at a high level.
——
"Where should we go first?" I asked Rosa-chan. Surely there were several places she wanted to visit.
"Clothing store! I heard yesterday many of the latest model clothes just went on sale!" she said with sparkling eyes.
She must be very excited when it comes to clothing.
"New model?" I wanted to know what new model Rosa-chan was talking about.
Rosa-chan pulled my hand, as if she wanted to quickly arrive at that clothing store.
"Hurry up," Rosa-chan whined.
"Yeah, yeah."
——
There was some distance between one house and another. Maybe this could be called an alley.
My gaze often shifted there, because I saw so many people sitting in those alleys.
Their clothes were very ragged, their bodies also looked very thin. They must have been vagrants.
It was very easy to find them if you went to the city center, whether in this world or in that world.
People like them mostly did come from families who were underprivileged.
And for those who already had children, usually they prioritized marriage over work.
Because they had no income and no permanent jobs, they could not keep up with the speed of city development.
There were also those who suddenly became poor, and were forced to live as they were with their families.
I didn't hate them... but I also didn't fully want to help them.
Pity? Them? Of course, their lives alone had to be spent in narrow alleys. Surely at night, it would be so cold it made them shiver.
This was another side of a big city.
The city government didn't want to help them, instead they cared more for those who had enough in life.
In other words, the government only took care of citizens who had money. And they didn't care about the poor.
This exemplified the so-called "Matthew effect."
Where that effect explained that—
"The more is given to those who have, and the more is taken from those who have not."
No matter what world, this effect would always exist. Because this effect always accompanied humans.
Well, in essence, every human had a fate they must bear. I had no special right to insult or belittle them.
The most important thing now, I had to accompany Rosa-chan.
——
Rosa-chan finally stopped in front of a store. Written on the front of the store, "Alana's Clothing Store."
This must have been the place Rosa-chan wanted to visit.
"Let's go in," said Rosa-chan, inviting me to enter the store.
Inside, there were many mannequins used to promote clothes, pants, and other types of apparel.
There were many beautiful clothes that caught my attention. Some sparkled like diamonds, some were simple but with very good designs.
Even... there was an outfit that looked very "tight."
W-well... hopefully this wasn't a women's clothing specialty store. If it really was...
"Welcome back, Rosalia-sama."
I saw the person who greeted Rosa-chan's arrival.
She was a young woman, wearing a red dress whose length was above her knees. And her clothes looked a little tight, accentuating certain parts of her body.
On her ears, there were earrings with gemstones that looked very luxurious. Rings and bracelets also adorned her hands.
The shoes she wore were probably some kind of high heels. She... must have been the type of girl who loved fashion.
"Alana-san, today I want to try the new clothes you're selling," said Rosa-chan to that girl.
"Let me check in the warehouse first," after that the girl immediately went to the warehouse.
That girl must have been Alana-san, the owner of this clothing store.
If so, no wonder her clothes were very fashionable. But well... not that tight, though.
While waiting for Alana-san to return, Rosa-chan invited me to look around at the clothes being sold in this store.
"Hmm..." from time to time she also matched some clothes to my body. Maybe she wanted to find clothes that suited me.
Finally, Alana-san returned. After that, Rosa-chan began trying on the clothes that had been prepared by Alana-san.
——
In that clothing store, it took longer than I expected, because Rosa-chan had trouble choosing clothes.
In the end, I had to suggest which clothes she should buy.
Honestly, this was the first time in my life, I could go out with a girl. Did this count as a date?
Do girls always take that long when buying clothes?
After the clothing store, Rosa-chan took me to various kinds of places in the city.
From jewelry stores, restaurants, even sometimes playing with children.
In my opinion, today felt fun especially together with Rosa-chan.
By the afternoon, the two of us sat by the river to relax for a moment.
Slowly, the sunlight began turning into orange, which meant soon the day would turn into night.
But even so, Rosa-chan took off her footwear and dipped her feet into the water.
"Cold!" said Rosa-chan, surprised at the water's temperature.
I followed what Rosa-chan did and sat beside her.
"Sorry... today I was the one who shopped more often..." Rosa-chan looked sad towards me.
"Wasn't it you who wanted to go out today?" I asked back.
From the start it was Rosa-chan, wasn't it, who invited me to go out today.
"Idiot... I just wanted to go out together with you... it's just, you haven't been with me much lately..." Rosa-chan turned her face away.
That was true. Lately, I had been working at home more often, rather than enjoying time with Rosa-chan.
So she cared, after all.
SMACK, I patted her head and stroked it gently.
"I had fun! This is the first time I've felt like this~" I tried to explain to her that I was also having fun.
Rosa-chan's cheeks slowly reddened, then she looked at my face with a warm smile.
—
Before entering this isekai, I was transferred when I was still in 8th grade, wasn't I?
At that time in my school there were so many of my friends who had girlfriends and always spent time with them.
One of my friends too, he who at first often played with me, eventually didn't invite me anymore after he dated an upperclassman.
He was the only boy who wanted to talk to me. There were also girls, but you already knew what she did, didn't you?
(It was in chapter 2.)
When I asked him to play, he outright rejected me. He acted as if I were a nuisance.
Let alone a girlfriend, or a date... I even found it very difficult to make male friends...
Since childhood, in elementary school... I became a loner child who really hated socializing.
So... even though this was just a made-up game, Rosa-chan was the first person for me.
This was the first time... I felt what it was like to go on a date with a girl, help her choose clothes... and relax in the afternoon together...